Fires rage in Mossel Bay
Since the deployment of the helicopter the immediate danger for the Friemersheim area has been averted and no houses have been lost.
Fire file picture: Dave van der Merwe
Helicopters and fire crews were hard at work in the Ruiterbos and Eightbells area in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, on Sunday as they tried to extinguish raging fires, reports the Mossel Bay Advertiser.
While no major roads have been closed to traffic, the Hammelkop and Leeukloof access roads are closed to all but emergency vehicles.
It has also been confirmed that the Great Brak transfer station is burning with firefighters attending to the fire.
Blaze in Mossel Bay. Picture: Mossel Bay Advertiser
Earlier on Sunday, Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue chief, Joe Johnson, said the fire raging near Friemersheim was out of control on all fronts.
A helicopter has been activated for the Friemersheim area as a precautionary measure to safeguard the residential area.
Since the deployment of the helicopter the immediate danger for the Friemersheim area has been averted and no houses have been lost.
The fire is burning at a private plantation of MTO. Parties currently fighting the fire are: MTO, Cape Nature, Eden District Municipality Fire and Rescue, Mossel Bay Fire and Rescue and Working on Fire.
More than 70 firefighters are on all of the fire lines. One of the many heads of the fire has jumped the firebreak at Leeukloof, destroying one house. The other houses have been evacuated.
Most of the fire teams are now concentrated at this point, trying to protect the remaining houses.
Picture: Dave van der Merwe
– Caxton News Service
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